


All's Fair in Love and War

by orphan_account



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Post-HYDRA Reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-01 07:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4010704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all starts with an undercover surveillance mission that might also be a date</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

People walked past without a second thought to the pair walking in step through the mall. This wasn’t the first time they had done something like this, but at least this time they weren’t being hunted. Steve took Natasha’s hand in his own and pointed casually towards the food court. She laughed, letting him lead her along. They were tailing a mark, one of the Hydra political brass based on the intel that Natasha had gotten her hands on. The poor fool had no idea who the cheerful, laughing couple were as they casually discussed where to get food. Natasha made a compelling argument for crepes and Steve had to admit that he hadn’t had one in a long time. He didn’t bother to clarify how long, they both knew when he meant. She stepped up to the counter and ordered the food while he looked around for a table that would let them keep an eye on their mark. He had met someone, Steve noted with a smile. Good, they could use a break on this one.   
“Hey sweetie, what did you want to drink?”  
Steve turned his attention back to Natasha and smiled.  
“Just get me a lemonade, alright?”  
That got a laugh out of her.  
“Should I get you the kid’s meal too?”  
“Very funny.” Pause. “I’m gonna go grab us a table. This place is filling up fast.”  
Natasha nodded, still giving him that smile.  
“Alright. Grab napkins too, okay?”  
He did as she asked and plopped down at a table where they would both be able to see their mark without looking unnatural. Pulling out his phone, he texted an update to the rest of the team waiting for them. _He’s got a friend. Things might get interesting._ Then he set about playing a game that didn’t take too much attention. Just enough to look bored and impatient. Their mark was a man named Senator Fisher. What particularly galled Steve about this case was that the man had seemed so good, so much unlike the kind of person who would go in for Hydra. He’d even voted for him. When the phone started to vibrate in his hands, he nearly dropped it. _We’re on standby. Call us in if you need the big guns, Cap._ Steve grinned at the phone and then switched back over to his game, taking a moment to look for Natasha. There she was, wending her way through the crowd with the tray of food. He tucked his phone back into his pocket and smiled at her.  
“Thanks, dear. So, any plans for where to go next? The rest of the gang is around, if we want to meet up.”  
She leaned back and pondered it for a moment.  
“I dunno. We have all day…but…did they have any plans or anything?”  
“Nah, I think they were looking to see what we were up to.”  
“Maybe we should meet up later. Dinner or something.”  
He took a bite of his crepe and smiled at her.  
“Sounds like fun.”

* * *

 They finished their meal in relative peace, mostly just teasing each other about little things like the fact that Natasha was wearing Steve’s shirt…again. He got up to throw out their trash and put away the tray. By the time he returned, it was time to set off again. Their mark and his companion had moved on. Steve offered her his arm and together they walked off. Natasha kept stopping at shops to point at something in the window, to ask him a quick question or just to check the map again. He had to admire how good she was at this, but then this was what she’d been trained to do all her life. He was still learning. When she realized that their mark was leaving the store, and splitting up with his lunchtime companion, Natasha smiled up at Steve.  
“You know, I think now might be a good time.”  
He pulled out his phone and texted a single word. _Macy’s._ Sam and Wanda could grab their original mark while Steve and Natasha tailed the new-comer. He had the look of a fighter. _Got him._ Came the response and Steve smiled. That was just before Natasha tensed suddenly and dropped to the floor, pulling him down with her. A sniper’s bullet whizzed right the air where his head had been and Natasha swore. Steve rolled behind one of the potted trees he’d always wondered why malls had and mused to himself that this probably wasn’t their intended use. Natasha had spotted where the sniper had to be and was on the move. Looking up, Steve spotted their new target just as the man smiled and disappeared into the fleeing crowd. _Dammit._ He was on his feet, torn between going after the man and backing up Nat. Then another bullet tore through the air and Steve Rogers had a new focus. Looking around for a frantic moment, he spotted what he wanted. The fastest way to clear the mall of civilians? Pull the fire alarm. If the gun shots hadn’t already gotten them out, this would.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission goes wrong...with a few extra surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little short and I'm sorry for that, but I'm setting up the story here and the pacing should allow for longer chapters pretty soon.

The alarm was blaring through the entire building, civilians pouring through the doors with frantic urgency. Sam cursed under his breath and glanced at Wanda. They hadn’t been working together for long and he only knew some of her story. He hadn’t seen how she would handle the whole situation going sideways yet, and it wasn’t something he was keen on seeing given her powers. He opened his mouth to shout something and something slammed into him, knocking him clear off his feet. Sam rolled across the parking lot, trying to get back to his feet and also trying to get eyes on whatever the hell had hit him. Pulling himself to his feet, he deployed his wings and got ready to fight. Whatever he was expecting, a guy in his twenties in some kind of blue and gray outfit with silver streaks and a bad bleach job.   
“Who are you supposed to be?”  
The guy turned into a blur and Sam felt himself get launched backwards again. Wanda froze in her tracks, eyes huge and her voice choked.  
“Pietro?”

* * *

 Natasha sprinted up the escalator, charging for the sniper, pulling the pistol from where she’d concealed it as she moved. Another shot rang out and she hoped Steve hadn’t been hit. What was he even doing? She charged through the food court making for the overlook to the lower level. When she got there, though, the sniper was slumped on the ground with blood matted in his hair and a man standing over him. The dark haired man looked up at her and she recognized his eyes immediately. The Winter Soldier. He looked at her for a long moment while she kept her pistol trained on him. After a moment, he spoke. To her surprise, his words were in flawless Russian.  
“<Go help Steve. Don’t tell him I was here. Not yet.>”  
For half a moment, she considered and then she turned and saw the last thing she wanted to see: Steve Rogers surrounded and without his shield. She heard the footsteps running away from behind her and knew that Bucky Barnes was gone again, but she had bigger problems to deal with.

* * *

 He didn’t recognize her, she knew that much. If he had, there was no way they would be fighting now. There were tears on Wanda’s cheeks as she tried to get into his mind and failed over and over again. She was on her knees, blood dripping from dozens of cuts from the number of times she’d hit the pavement from his attacks. She would not hit him back though, no matter how many times he hurt her.   
“Pietro, _please_.”  
Then, just as quickly as he’d appeared, he was gone again. Wanda pulled herself to her feet and ran her unconscious partner. Their mark was gone and her brother was suddenly alive and fighting against them. What more could possibly go wrong? She didn’t bother with the phone, that was for when they needed cover. She spoke into the communicator she’d been given instead.  
“Natasha, we…we were attacked. Fisher’s gone. It was Pietro.” 

* * *

 “Shit.”  
That was the only possible reply she could make. She didn’t have time for more, this op was so far gone south there was no salvaging it other than just getting out. With a silent thought that she was a complete idiot, Natasha jumped from the balcony and aimed for one of the Hydra foot soldiers. It wasn’t too hard to manage her landing so she slammed into him without any injury to himself. Steve was bleeding far more than she liked and she grabbed his arm.  
“Come on, Rogers, we’re leaving.”  
“Don’t need to tell me twice.”   
He grabbed the top of a trash can and flung it at the group. It sure wasn’t as good as his shield, but it did the trick and they started for the exit as quickly as they could.  
“We have to regroup.”  
“Back to base.” Steve’s voice was ragged. “Regroup at base.”  
They got to where he’d parked his motorcycle and the super soldier slumped suddenly. Natasha swore a blue streak in Russian as she grabbed him, keeping him from hitting his head on the street and tried to pull him upright. He was still conscious, but barely.  
“Steve, I need you to stay with me. I’ll drive, but you stay with me.”  
He made a sound like agreement and as she pulled him onto the bike behind her, all she could do was hope.

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Natasha paced in the hallway outside the medbay and tried not to fret. She could feel Sam’s eyes following her, could hear Wanda murmuring to herself in her native tongue off to the side, but none of that mattered right now. All she could do right now was wait for Dr. Cho to tell her that Steve was alright. After what seemed like hours but was probably only 20 minutes or so, Sam broke the tense silence.  
“Alright, what the hell happened back there? Because it seemed to me like we were getting attacked by a dead guy.” He paused and had the good sense to look abashed at his own words. “Um…sorry, Wanda.”  
She just shook her head.  
“That was exactly what happened. Pietro… He didn’t recognize me.”  
Natasha stopped, staring at the wall.  
“The Winter Soldier…Bucky…He helped us. Took out the sniper.”  
The door opened then and Dr. Cho walked out. It did nothing for anyone’s nerves that she was covered in blood. But she had a tired smile on her face.  
“Steve?”  
“Fast asleep. And he’s staying that way for now. I’ll page you when he wakes up, but he needs to finish healing.”  
She gave them a nod and went to go clean up, leaving them alone in the hallway again.  
“Alright,” started Natasha, “someone call in Rhodes and Vision. We’re going to debrief and see if we can figure out what’s going on.”  
Wanda nodded.  
“I’ll get the Vision. Then we’ll be right there.”

 

* * *

 

“And that’s what happened outside,” finished Wanda, falling back into her seat.  
Natasha looked the younger woman over, deciding after a moment that Wanda would be fine.  
“So, we need to figure out what we know, what we need to know and decide on a course of action.”  
Rhodey nodded.  
“Seems to me, Hydra knew you were coming. We can also probably guess they’re the ones who can account for Pietro being up, about and hostile. That leads to a pretty big question: how are they getting insider intel?”  
They exchanged looks around the table and Natasha rubbed her temples.  
“Not this _again_.”

* * *

 

Steve woke in a bed in the medbay and looked around to find the source of the soft sound that had woken him.  
“I was wondering when you were going to wake up, buddy.”  
When Steve started to sit up fast, recognizing the voice, he felt a hand on his chest.  
“Not so fast. I know you heal fast these days, but if you pass out on me I’m going to be just as upset as I was when you were twelve.”  
“Bucky!”

 

 


End file.
